"When people look at an electricity substation, they usually see steel structures, cables and technical equipment. The real value, however, is elsewhere. It is in allowing everyone to enjoy electricity as a basic necessity."

These words, said by CINEA's representative Ona Kostinaitė-Grinkevičienė during the commissioning ceremony of the new Répcelak substation in Hungary, capture the challenge currently facing Europe's electricity networks.

Because while electricity remains one of the foundations of modern life, the way Europeans produce, consume and depend on electricity is changing rapidly.

Citizens are becoming prosumers, generating electricity through rooftop solar panels while simultaneously charging their electric vehicles and increasingly relying on heat pumps for heating and cooling. Industries require increasing electricity capacity to expand their operations. Tourist regions face growing demand peaks. And climate change is placing unprecedented pressure on existing infrastructure.

These are some of the challenges affecting Europe's electricity systems today and, in particular, the ones we observed during our visit to Hungary and Slovakia. Addressing them requires a new generation of electricity networks: smarter, more flexible, more resilient and increasingly interconnected; and this is precisely the ambition of Danube InGrid.

Preparing the grid for Europe's electrified future

Supported by CEF Energy with €135 millionof EU funding (split in Phase 1, Phase 2), Danube InGrid is one of Europe's most ambitious smart grid projects, modernising electricity distribution networks across Hungary and Slovakia. Its objective extends far beyond replacing ageing infrastructure.

The project is preparing electricity networks for what project partners describe as "Electrification 2.0": a future where electricity demand continues to grow, renewable generation becomes increasingly decentralised and consumers themselves become active participants in the energy system.

This transformation is already visible on the ground.

Building resilience in a changing climate

Danube InGrid is also helping electricity networks adapt to a new reality: increasingly frequent and severe weather events.

In eastern Slovakia, severe storms in 2025 caused extensive damage to overhead power lines and left thousands of consumers affected.

Several investments under Danube InGrid are therefore replacing vulnerable overhead lines with underground cables and optical communication infrastructure. Beyond increasing reliability, these investments allow operators to detect and even anticipate faults faster, improve predictive analytics and strengthen the resilience of electricity supply.

In mountainous regions and protected natural areas, underground infrastructure also reduces environmental impacts while improving safety for maintenance teams working in difficult terrain and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.

The project also incorporates meteorological monitoring systems that provide real-time data on temperature, wind speed, rainfall and other environmental conditions, helping operators anticipate potential disruptions and better prepare electricity networks for extreme weather events.

When electricity networks become truly smart

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Danube InGrid is that many of the technologies often associated with the "future grid" are already operational today.

For instance, in Hungary, automatic on-load tap changer (OLTC) transformers continuously regulate voltage in real time, adapting automatically to fluctuations caused by renewable generation and changing consumption patterns. Combined with advanced monitoring systems, remote-controlled equipment and digital communication technologies, these innovations are making electricity networks more automated, more flexible and better equipped to respond to rapidly changing operating conditions.

At the VSD dispatching centre in Košice, operators monitor more than 680,000 supply points in real time, using smart technologies to detect faults, optimise grid operations and improve resilience. What previously required physical interventions in the field can increasingly be monitored, controlled and optimised remotely.

These technologies are helping create electricity networks that are not only more efficient and flexible, but also capable of accommodating increasing renewable generation, growing electricity demand and new patterns of consumption.

More than infrastructure

Yet throughout the project, one message remains clear: smart grids are not only about technology.

Behind every substation, underground cable and control centre are engineers, technicians, dispatchers and project managers working to ensure that Europe's electricity networks remain capable of supporting the needs of citizens, businesses and communities.

Their work often remains invisible, but its impact does not.

As Europe moves towards a more electrified future, projects such as Danube InGrid demonstrate that the energy transition depends not only on producing cleaner electricity, but also on building the intelligent, resilient and flexible networks - and on the highly skilled professionals behind them - needed to deliver it.

And while citizens may only see steel structures and cables, the real value of these investments lies elsewhere: in ensuring that Europe's electricity networks are ready for the challenges of tomorrow.